Making a COVID comeback, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra announces its 2023-24 season
Don Reinhold feels far more optimistic about the Wichita Symphony Orchestra’s recovery from the pandemic than he did a year ago.
“I am simply amazed,” the symphony’s CEO said. “I would describe it as robust. It’s exceeded expectations – every concert so far (in the 2022-23 season) has beaten the budget goal. We were conservative because no one knew how it would come back and how quickly. It’s still not back to pre-pandemic levels and it may never be. But what’s remarkable is that the financial condition is excellence and each concert has been making its budget.”
The move from two to one concerts per performance weekend has generated larger houses at the Century II concert hall, he said.
“A year ago, as recently as February or March last year, we never had more than 500 people at a concert in that hall. And we all know what that looks like in that massive place,” Reinhold said. “Right from the get-go in October when we started the Masterworks, we’re consistently hitting over 1,000 – averaging as many as 1,200 and at times as much as 1,600. The perception is that the hall looks full.”
Orchestras the size of the Wichita symphony and even larger have moved from two-concert weekends to one, conductor and music director Daniel Hege said.
“The pandemic created kind of a tipping point for us where we saw it wasn’t feasible to do two performances of the same program,” he said.
The 2020 pandemic, coupled with racial tensions nationwide during that time, caused orchestras to not only rethink their methods but create a more diverse showcase of performers and composers, Hege said.
“There was kind of a clarion call to orchestras and arts organizations throughout the country, especially during the pandemic, with the racial tensions heating up during that time,” he said. “It’s been a good thing because we were able to discover some new works. We just had to press a little harder.”
Those themes are extending into the 2023-24 season, which includes seven Masterworks and one pops concert.
Here’s a look at the season:
Oct. 29 – Suite Tributes
Concertmaster Holly Mulcahy is featured on rising composer Jim Stephenson’s violin concert “Tributes.”
“The piece has a very American language and is very jazzy,” Hege said. The second movement is based on improvisation from Louis Armstrong’s piece “Hotter Than That,” he added.
The program that also includes a short piece by Aaron Copland, “Down a Country Lane” and Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier Suite” – “I’ve been itching to program that for years,” Hege said.
Nov. 19 – Spirituals and Symphonies
Andre Raphael, conductor laureate of West Virginia’s Wheeling Symphony and a conductor with the Boston Symphony, is featured as guest conductor.
The program includes spirituals for orchestra by Adolphus Hailstork, Roy Harris’ Third Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.
Dec. 9 – “S’Wonderful: The Music of George Gershwin”
Songs to be announced will feature lyric soprano and musical theater actress Lisa Vroman, as well as pianist Clayton Stephenson, who recently was a finalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
“He’s one of these brilliant young kids who gets his training from the New England Conservatory of Music while he’s applying to Harvard” as a student in economics, Reinhold said. “The minute he walks out on stage, there’s a charismatic connection with the audience, a gentle smile. He just communicates really well.”
Jan. 21, 2024 – Brahms & Beethoven
Pianist Stephen Hough returns to Century II, this time playing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, prior to the symphony playing Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
“Stephen Hough is one of the eminent pianists throughout the world, so we’re always fortunate to have him around and he’s playing one of those titans, Brahms’ ‘Piano Concerto,’” Hege said. “He likes playing in Wichita, so it’s a win-win.”
Feb. 10, 2024 – John Williams: Oscar Legend
The pops concert follows up the symphony’s 2017 tribute to the film composer who has been nominated for 53 Oscars, winning five.
“There was so much music we wanted to play the last time we had a concert and it was a question of ‘What do we have to cut?’” Hege said. “You have to keep cutting things because there’s so much out there.”
Feb. 18, 2024 – Gabriela Martinez plays Rachmaninoff
“She was a big hit with the audience and the orchestra,” Hege said of the pianist’s performance during the 2017-18 season. “It was just a matter of time to bring her back.”
The program begins with “Primal Message for Strings” by Nokuthula Ngwenyama, a composer of African and Japanese descent and a longtime friend and colleague of Hege.
“It’s a fascinating work,” he said. “It has to do with interstellar communications and she uses gorgeous melodies and sound effects.”
In the middle of the concert is Paul Hindemith’s “Mathis der Maler,” which Hege calls “one of the great works of the 20th century.”
March 9, 2024 – Choral Sensations
The WSO chorus is featured on Poulenc’s “Gloria” and Dvorak’s “Te Deum.”
The concert concludes with the world premiere of a yet-untitled work by Tim Hinck, a composer and colleague of Mulcahy.
“He’s writing it with Kansans in mind,” Hege said. “He’s traveling across the state to get the sounds and the smells and the conversations with people.”
April 13, 2024 – The Masters: Mozart + Mahler
Pianist Terrence Wilson is featured on Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Minor.
“He’s just an outstanding pianist and he has a great touch for Mozart,” Hege said. “It’s one of my favorite concertos of Mozart but so many are so great.”
The night concludes with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1.
“We feel like Mozart and Mahler make a very good combination, a good color combination, because of the more exposed and clear textures of Mozart and Mahler’s romantic, post romantic sound,” Hege said.
Early bird pricing for season tickets will be in place through March 26. Reinhold said season ticket prices should be about the same, with a little fluctuation, and that individual ticket prices may see some changes from the current season.
